Most Classical authors respected the Etruscans for their skill in religious ritual and divination, but Etruscan religion can be a minefield for naive scholars, tempting many into flights of fancy. Now, however, many reliable works are available, and classicists and historians may safely venture forth, and with promise of great rewards. The main obstacles for outsiders to Etruscan Studies have been overcome: the Etruscan language is generally knowable, even for those who prefer to read in English (see G. Bonfante and L. Bonfante, The Etruscan Language. An Introduction, rev. ed., Manchester, 2002 --hereafter Bonfante-2; see this work for brief entries on all major epigraphic items.) And there is plenty of sound and cautious scholarship on Etruscan religion now available, from monographs to compendia such as the Harvard Guide and the ThesCRA.1 I offer some comments on recent works as background for readers in other fields who may benefit from a fresh look at some of this precious material. etc. at BMCR

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Forging aheadPeter ParsonsHas Simonides struck again?In 2006 there went on show in Turin a fragmentary papyrus book-roll, nearly thirteen inches tall and over eight feet long, datable from its script to the later first century bc. On the front it carries a Greek text: a proem which dilates on the intellectual status of geography (two columns); then a wide space which contains the remains of a detailed map (without place-names); then the introduction to a geography of Spain (two columns), of which part coincides with a passage quoted elsewhere as from Book II of the long-lost Geographical Descriptions by Artemidorus of Ephesus (c100 bc). The wide left hand margin, and a long blank at the end, are occupied by some twenty drawings -heads, feet, hands. The back (which in a normal book-roll remains blank) shows some forty small drawings of birds, fish and animals, real and fabulous, with names attached. Photographs can be seen in the sumptuous catalogue, Le tre vite del papiro di Artemidoro (noticed with the exhibition in the TLS of March 8, 2006)/

etc at TLS I apologize for the tardy notice of this review (February 22, 2008!).

Summary:This volume contains essays based on the papers presented at the international colloquium "Banks, Loans and Financial Archives in the Ancient World", held in Ghent and Brussels in 2006 in honour of R. Bogaert. Specialists of various fields and periods have contributed studies on banking and finance in the Ancient World (including the Near East) and 18th-century England, each applying his or her own research strategies, methodologies and traditions. A common ground was found transcending the boundaries between disciplines as diverse as Assyriology, social and economic history, Roman law, epigraphy, papyrology and economics. The result of this collaborative effort is a consistent study that takes up many of the challenges posed by recent discoveries and new insights concerning the 'nature' of the ancient economy. As such, it will prove a substantial contribution to the ongoing effort to better understand the genesis, development and role of money, credit and financial mediation in the Ancient World.

David Frankfurter University of New Hampshire/Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study Cambridge Massachusetts

Although one might surmise it from the title, this is not a synthetic study of religious belief and cult in fourth-century Egypt according to the evidence of the papyri, nor is it a general summary of what fourth-century papyri can teach us about belief and cult. Nowhere, in fact, are belief and cult explained as categories for the study of ancient religion. Instead, Malcolm Choat has performed the immeasurable service of showing us the problems and challenges that papyri—letters, administrative documents, random fragments of writing—pose the historian interested in the growth of Christianity or the shift in religious forms during this transitional century. It is not a work of history but a manual for historical understanding, and as such it should serve as an essential textbook for any graduate course on papyrology or Christian primary sources and as a handbook for any scholar of early Christianity or late antiquity. Choat’s familiarity with an enormous range of papyri and especially the rich corpus of early Manichaean documents gives him an unusual vantage on the problems and prospects of fourth-century papyri, while his lucid writing make him an especially good teacher in their use.

Monday, May 05, 2008

From 2006, just noticed in J. Straus' Review of Burstein, who mentions J. Manning, "The Ptolemaic Economy, Institutions, Economic Integration, and the Limits of Centralized Political Power," pp. 257-274 therein.

An engaging, accessible biography of the legendary Egyptian queen, with source documentsAmbitious, intelligent, and desired by powerful men, Cleopatra VII came to power at a time when Roman and Egyptian interests increasingly concerned the same object: Egypt itself. Cleopatra lived and reigned at the center of this complex and persistent power struggle. Her legacy has since lost much of its former political significance, as she has come to symbolize instead the potent force of female sexuality and power.

In this engaging and multifaceted account, Stanley M. Burstein displays Cleopatra in the full manifold brilliance of the multiple cultures, countries, and people that surrounded her throughout her compelling life, and in so doing develops a stunning picture of a legendary queen and a deeply historic reign. Designed as an accessible introduction to Cleopatra VII and her time, The Reign of Cleopatra offers readers and researchers an appealing mix of descriptive chapters, biographical sketches, and annotated primary documents. The narrative chapters conclude with a discussion of Cleopatra’s significance as a person, a queen, and a symbol. A glossary and annotated bibliography round out the volume.

Stanley M. Burstein is Professor Emeritus of History at California State University, Los Angeles, and coauthor of Ancient Greece: A Brief History.